News Releases

Manufactured Home Industry Urges Buyers to Avoid Unlicensed Home Dealers

December, 2014

The business association representing the manufactured home industry in South Carolina issued a recommendation that homebuyers only buy homes from companies that have a state license.

South Carolina law requires that home dealers have a license, according to Mark Dillard, Executive Director of the Manufactured Housing Institute of South Carolina.

“If the person doesn’t have a license, they are selling illegally,” Dillard said. “If the seller is willing to break that basic law, you can expect them to violate other consumer protection laws as well.”

Under South Carolina law, any person or company that sells, buys or offers three or more manufactured homes in any 12-month period is classified as a manufactured home dealer and must have a license from the SC Manufactured Housing Board.

If a person buys from a unlicensed manufactured home seller, they lose most of the consumer protections provided under South Carolina law, Dillard said.

A properly licensed home dealer has to comply with a whole chapter of consumer protection rules. The regulations govern how the home has to be installed properly, how refunds must be given and bans unethical business practices, he said.

“The state licensing board can order a licensed dealer to fix problems, make refunds and other remedies to protect consumers,” Dillard said. “But if the seller is unlicensed, the homebuyer has nowhere to go.”

A licensed dealer must undergo training and testing and have a bond for consumer refunds, he added.

“When people learn about the importance of buying only from anlicensed dealer they avoid the unlicensed companies like the plaque,” he said. “The buyers who mess up are the ones who aren’t aware of this law.”

Potential homebuyers can get a list of home retail companies that are licensed, bonded and professional society members in good standing by going towww.MHISC.comand clicking on "Find A Home."

The US Congress in Washington voted to provide builders of Energy Star-qualified manufactured homes with a tax credit of $1,000 (per home) and builders of modular homes with a credit of $2,000 (per home).

On January 1st, Congress extended the New Energy Efficient Home Credit (I.R.C. 45L) through December 31, 2013.

In a significant victory for the factory-built housing industry, Congress included the provision in the legislation (H.R. 8) that effectively averts the “fiscal cliff” by extending a number of expiring tax provisions

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Law Guaranteeing Placement of Modular Homes Now on the Books

December 2012

Governor Nikki Haley signed into law legislation guaranteeing the placement of residential modular homes that have been used as display models.

The legislation, drafted by MHISC / SCMHI was introduced by industry supporter Alan Clemmons, a state representative from Horry County. The SC Modular Housing Institute is the modular division of MHISC.

The legislation will benefit member companies and homebuyers. It comes into play when a home is built to a particular year’s edition of the building code and then sold after a new edition has been adopted. The customer can buy the home with confidence that the home can be placed.

Manufactured home producers can produce a home with the same quality and materials for half the cost.

The average cost of a new manufactured home in the latest statistics available was $43.27 per square foot according to the US Census Bureau. The average cost for a site-built home for the same period was $83.38. Both figures are for the home only, excluding land.

The idea of producing homes is a landmark example American business ingenuity, according to Mark Dillard, Executive Director of the Manufactured Housing Institute of South Carolina (MHISC.) “Manufactured homes are the American competitive market system answer to the crucial need for affordable homes in South Carolina,” Dillard said.

Studies show that manufactured home builders reduce costs not by lowering quality but by capitalizing on the advantages of factory production including:

ØRain or shine production

ØThe ability to buy materials in large quantities. A visitor to manufactured home factory will see not only large quantities of wood and other building materials buy also items such as fireplace inserts bought in quantity.

Ø The efficiency of line production, with employees performing a particular job quickly and efficiently.

Ø Minimal waste of materials

The Green Way to Build Factory construction is the most environmentally friendly way to build homes. Placement of a manufactured or modular house on the home site has much less impact on the land than building on-site. Less fuel is used transporting a manufactured house than the dozens of trips necessary to build at the home-site. Wood is ordered and cut to exact sizes, minimizing the waste of natural resources.